I am putting blame on this thread totally on Jens as he was assuming we'd have one in the works already. I think he was actually eagerly anticipating the arrival and baited us girls into getting to work on it.

The Worlds are going on this week. The U23 Chrono was yesterday and the Women's Chrono was ridden this morning. I think PopUp is going to be adding some screen shots for the men to enjoy and I hope he does as a hotitude thread for all is what we aim for here at the lovely Cafe!

With no Benna, Fabian, or George... the list goes on, I think we need to keep this open to shots of those we wish were there as well as those who are. Have fun posting! Pics in the thread always welcome but make sure to try and credit the source when you can. Enjoy!!!

I was going to try a small write up but I am way to tired after this week at work. BUT, I am still curious as to who of us might be there. I know a couple but figured a quick roll call would be cool.

I'm going to be at the finish of Stage 1 through the finish next Sunday. Anyone else making an appearance for a stage or two? It would be cool to have a mini PdC party!

Very cool to see that Universal looks to be covering the race. That should be some good fun. Well, most race viewing is good but on demand later (which TOC - I don't recall having) should be good to recap at night.

A second Stars and Stripes for Brooke Miller of Tibco!

Great racing this weekend with great weather for fans to watch. The sun was hot at times and I'm sure the riders felt it. Saturday Night's ProAm race was won by Rock Racking as was today's Men's National Criterium. I think I watched most of the races but was there to enjoy so I don't have too many details.

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Being the friendly fan of C that I am, I wanted to share with all of you his interview on our local radio station from yesterday morning. His cousin Mary works for the station and we get treated to phone interviews throughout the year.

Suffering from jetlag yesterday having just gotten home a couple days ago, he headed into the station yesterday morning and Mary emailed me and said they video'd it for us!

Here is the video and interview with calls from listeners. C shares his experience and talks about his year.

Check it out! C on WGN 8-14-08!

I don't see one started by Chris or anyone else yet. So here is a new thread to get things going for the RR. Hopefully we can all get connected soon or we will have SERIOUS Bruce envy going!!!

And a again I am short on words, darn it. Good Luck to all of our favorites and each of our countries. Here is a too a good race and a good night of fun!!!

I thought I would start a thread for anyone wanting to chat while we watch the Opening Ceremony. I love the Olympics and love watching the teams walk in. Instead of hopping on all the other threads, I thought one just for this would work. If Chris has something else lined up, feel free to zap this one out. Happy Olympics Everyone!!! Here's to a beautiful evening of pure enjoyment. Let the games begin...

Citius, Altius, Fortius

What a fun weekend to watch some racing! Today was the Crit stage of Elk Grove's 3 day race weekend. I again had a great time and can not say enough about the riders I've met. Really great guys!

Today's stage started out with a few trying to get a little lead and then all of a sudden a small group of guys were off. They got quite a lead and Toyota United had their train going to keep them to where they could get them back. The break eventually was 6 riders and included Tyler Hamilton of Rock Racing. Bryce Mead was in the group as well and it was fun cheering him on!

The stage was won with a great effort in the end to pass up KBS by Brad Huff of Jelly Belly, followed by David Veillieux of Kelly Benefits, and Freddie Rodriquez of Rock Racing. The overall was won by David Veilleux who overtook Hilton Clarke's lead going into the race, followed in 2nd place by Hilton Clarke of Toyota United, and Tom Zirbel of Bissell.

I had a blast today and got to meet Tyler Hamilton and Fast Freddie before the race. I also stopped over by Jelly Belly again to say hi to Brad and Bryce. The guys were a lot of fun to talk to and the entire team is super great with fans. Matty Rice was enjoying the relaxation before things got started and Danny Van Haute was super nice. The entire team gets my vote for being one of the friendliest out there. Thanks guys!

The results for the stage can be found here. The results for the overall can be found here. CyclingNews is also covering the race and those write ups can be found here.

As Bruce noted in his thread on Chris Horner, Chris broke his collarbone in yesterday's stage during the run into the finish. Chris put on his smile today though and was a trooper talking and interviewing during the stage. During the last few laps he moved off to the side but stuck around for pics and hello's with fans. He had signed my pic during the race and I was able to see him and Fast Freddie after the stage and thank them both and congratulate them.

I was able to print up some of the pics from Friday's TT and was able to have the guys sign them today as I saw them which was pretty sweet. Plus I got some new pics and had a pretty fun time in general. I'm hoping the group of us that were hanging out with John being caught up on the jumbo-tron doing a strange hand wave thing doesn't make the TV coverage... :-) John was interviewed during the race and got to talk about Christian. Many of our guys are heading to Beijing tomorrow and I wish them all the safest travels!

Another highlight of today was meeting PopUp Rolen! I think he might be my new local hero and I am looking forward to cheering him on next year in some cycling races! Don't let him ever fool you, he is in great shape and quite the triathlete. He biked out to the race from the City and I hope the headwind on the way back wasn't too bad!! It was great meeting you!

Here are some of my pics from today:

Brad Huff in the front on the first lap...

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The Bissell train...

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The Toyota United Train...

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The 6-man breakaway...

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Chris Horner visiting and talking during the stage...

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John Vandevelde being interviewed...

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The Stage Winning Podium (Yeah Brad!!!)...

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Brad Huff being interviewed after the stage...

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The Overall Podium...

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What a fun night! :-) I headed over after work and was there before the start watching riders warming up. It was pretty warm but I think last year might've been warmer.

The TT tonight was 4.5 miles pretty much on the same course as Sunday's Crit stage. Tom Zirbel was one of the very first to ride and set a great time of 8:36.37. He was flying on the course. His time kept all night and he won the stage! Chris Horner started towards the end and finished 2nd, followed by Francois Parisien from Team Race Pro in 3rd. Tonight's results can be found here.

The course didn't seem too bad for the TT'rs. I know a rider fell in one of the turns on the other end (they had a jumbo-tron set up for viewing the riders all over the course) and I'm pretty sure it was Doug Ollerenshaw. I don't think he was too hurt but I didn't see him after the race. I hope to try and meet him on Sunday. He finished the stage and I thought they were going to adjust his time somehow but I don't know if they did. He is retiring this year so chances to see him race are running out. Check out Lyne's site - Good luck Dougie for more about his retirement.

Some notables at the race this year are Tyler Hamilton, Lyne's sweetie Dominique Rollin (I promise to try and meet him and get you a pic Lyne!), Fast Freddie, Brad Huff, Chris Horner, Hilton Clark (who beat C here two years ago) and Alex Candelario. And these are just a few! There is great talent here this weekend so I hope if you are in the area, you check it out (PopUp I hope you make it Sunday).

I met Daniel Holloway from Garmin shortly after I got there. I had gotten an email from Alex Howes earlier in the day so it was fun to pass along the hello's. He was really nice and we both wished he had some team support. :-) I met Chad Hartley at the Grafton and Sheboygan races last month so it was fun to see him and Amy again. I finally met Brad Huff and Bryce Mead. Brad was so nice and fun to talk to and he chatted away while he cooled down after his ride. Everyone from Jelly Belly were really nice and it was fun talking to them. I also got to meet Chris Horner and I can confirm - the man is a complete sweetheart.

I'm not going to make it to tomorrow's Road stage starting in Schaumburg and ending in Elk Grove but I will be at Sunday's Crit. I'm already looking forward to seeing the guys again. I enjoy this race a lot and I'm thrilled such talented and really friendly riders come to it.

A few pics from tonight:

Daniel Holloway taking off...

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Brad Huff in the start house...

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Fast Freddie in the start house...

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Chris Horner missin' the cheek on that one... :-)

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Final TT Podium...

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Bryce Mead is really tall...

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Chris Horner is a complete sweetheart...

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It appears that we are getting a slow down in opening - certainly not in postings - of our "eye candy - take two", which spun nicely from our "Time to Hunt Down Hotitude" thread done earlier. With the Olympics very quickly approaching, I think now is a good time to open one up for Olympic enjoyment. Feel free to include others besides cyclists.

Darn, and I'm a few words short. Let's include inspiration -

Olympic motto: "Citius, Altius, Fortius." Latin for "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".